Business
Business Insurance
Build the Right Commercial Insurance Plan –
Property, Auto, Liability, Workers Compensation & Employee Benefits
Every business is unique in the amount of insurance they need. There are so many factors and dynamics that affect your business outcomes and level of risk. Do you have a brick-and-mortar location? Will you need to insure inventory or equipment? Are there any corporate vehicles? And that’s just scratching the surface. What about the people that work for you? Will you offer them insurance and employee benefits, too?
Thankfully, Fergurson Insurance Agency, Inc. gets that there is no one-size-fits-all commercial insurance package. Our team will walk you through a series of questions that helps us define your business’s unique needs and risks. Then we get to work. We shop our network of top-rated insurance companies. We compare plan coverages and enhancements to make sure they match your business’s long-and short-term needs and goals. We design a plan that factors in the right mix of business insurance products at a rate your business can afford.
That’s the great thing about working with an independent insurance agent. Fergurson Insurance Agency, Inc. is a trusted resource that is rooting for your success. We’re not committed to one insurance company or set of commercial insurance products. We find the products that are the best fit for you. And if you ever do have a claim to file, we’ve got your back. We’ll work as your advocate to help you file and settle the claim, too!
Ask Us About the Following Business Insurance Plans:
- Business Property Insurance
- Business General Liability
- Business Auto Insurance
- Workers Compensation
- Business Owner's Package Policy
- Employee Benefits
Ready to shop and compare business insurance plans?
Let’s start talking: (217) 245-9144
Property
Whether you’re just opening your business or have been up and running for years, property insurance is a must-have coverage. But it protects much more than the physical location of your business. It also covers business personal property and your business income. That adds up to make this one powerful policy you’ll want to include in your business’s insurance plan.
Property insurance is ideal for retail and service business owners, but a good way to approach it is if your business has a physical location, you’ll want to make sure you have property insurance. The amount of insurance you need will vary based on your inventory, equipment, and other business personal property factors.
To help you really see the scope of all the things property insurance can cover, we’ve outlined some common situations that businesses have used property insurance to get up and running again.
Building Coverage
- Your business experiences a fire.
- An act of nature caused extensive damage to your building.
- Someone vandalized your business.
Business Personal Property
- Someone breaks in and steals and/or damages your equipment or inventory.
- Your computers were damaged or stolen.
- A customer’s property was stolen while in your care.
- Personal or financial data is lost or stolen.
- Your business loses power, and perishable items are destroyed.
Business Income
- You can’t open your store due to damage or repairs being made.
- You’re not making rent off the property while it is being repaired.
Absolutely! This is where Ferguson Insurance can really tailor your business insurance plan to you. Some of the policy enhancements you can add include employee dishonesty coverage (which helps you recoup losses if you find an employee has stolen money or property from your business), equipment breakdown coverage, and coverage for outdoor signs.
General Liability
Every business needs to have liability insurance — even if you work out of your home. That’s because anyone who comes into contact with you or your business can file a claim against you. The reasons for this can range from someone getting hurt to a contract dispute.
Let’s take a quick look at what this must-have policy covers. Keep in mind that depending on the nature of your business and the level of risk you encounter, you may need to carry higher limits of coverage. Fergurson Insurance Agency, Inc. will help you determine how much and whether you would benefit from any policy enhancements.
Commonly Asked Questions About General Liability Insurance
Yes. Your policy will include specific coverage for medical expenses should a third party become injured at your place of business. It will not provide coverage if you or an employee is injured. That would be covered under Worker's Compensation.
Attorney fees can really add up in legal battles. Thankfully, if there is a situation where you, your employees, or one of your products or services caused harm or damage to another party, your general liability policy will provide coverage for defense and damages. General liability also covers you in claims of slander or libel.
Unfortunately, no. General liability will not cover you if you make a mistake. But professional liability does. Ask Fergurson Insurance Agency, Inc. about specific professional liability coverages for your industry.
There are quite a few options you can add to your general liability policy. This includes things like adding coverage for liability from employment practices, damage to customers’ property in your care, custody, or control, damage to electronic data, and expanded liability coverage for damage to rented properties, too. Fergurson Insurance Agency, Inc. will walk you through if and how any of the available policy enhancements make sense for your business. We also have numerous other options you can add on that provide additional coverage for retail businesses and beyond. Ask us about which enhancements we have for your specific business.
Business Auto
You can never predict road conditions, weather, or what other drivers will do while you have company vehicles on the road. So, if your business depends on cars, trucks, or vans as an essential part of your daily business, you’ll want to look at adding business auto insurance so you can safeguard your company’s assets.
Obviously, if your business owns, rents, or leases any vehicles, you need commercial auto insurance. But you should also carry coverage if employees are driving their own vehicles while conducting business for you. That’s because if an employee is in an accident in their personal vehicle, they could exhaust their personal liability coverage limit, and then the injured party could come after you.
Yes. Just like with personal auto insurance, you can select various levels of business auto coverage. Most states require that you carry at least a minimum amount of commercial liability insurance, but that is a smart business practice, too. Fergurson Insurance Agency, Inc. will tap our network of top-rated insurance companies to provide you with a commercial auto insurance quote that can include:
- Auto Liability
- Medical Payments
- Comprehensive Coverage
- Collision Coverage
- Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage
- Coverage for Autos You Borrow or Rent
- Coverage for Employees Using Their Cars for Business
Insurance Coverage Q&A
What if the Vehicles Are Driven for Both Personal and Business Use?
Sometimes, company vehicles serve double duty in their purpose. Between 9 and 5, employees use the vehicle for business, but before and after that, it’s used for groceries, running the kids around, or traveling around town. A business auto insurance policy is the best option for these cases, but you may also want to look at an enhancement to the policy that would cover any family members who drive the company car. Fergurson Insurance Agency, Inc. will walk you through the best options for your specific situation.
Are There Any Options to Extend the Maximum Limit of Business Auto Coverage?
If you own a trucking company or a big fleet that is constantly on the road, you may want to look at adding a commercial umbrella policy to your business insurance plan. This is a fairly inexpensive way to get extra coverage against injury and property damage.
Get free business auto insurance quotes from multiple carriers and build the plan that best fits your business model and budget.
Workers Compensation
Accidents happen on the job, even if you work in a low-risk office environment. That’s why workers' compensation insurance is considered mandatory insurance if you have a business with employees. Here’s the catch, though: workers' compensation is one of the highest insurance costs businesses take on. And if it isn’t carefully monitored, premiums can rise and fall without any warning or notice.
Thankfully, this is one area where Ferguson Insurance's years of knowledge and experience with worker compensation come in handy. We’ll help you identify key areas that affect your workers' compensation premiums and work with you to educate employees on how you can lower your risk.
There are a lot of factors that play into how much you’ll pay for workers' compensation insurance, but the biggest factor is if you’ve had any recent claims. Claims you’ve had this year will affect how much you pay for future premiums. The real question is how much it will affect it. Some factors we look at in helping you get a more accurate picture of your current and future workers' compensation insurance plan are:
- The total amount of money paid out in claims over the years
- How much loss you’ve had by cause and nature of injury
- What your expected vs actual loss ratio is
- Risk management policies you currently have in place
- Identification of areas you can improve to control future losses
- What your “Return to Work” program looks like
- How you compare to industry benchmarks
Workers compensation insurance covers any hospital and medical expenses that are used to diagnose and treat a job-related illness or injury. However, it also provides disability payments to your employees should they be unable to work. This typically equates to two-thirds of his or her regular salary.
Business Auto Insurance Options
How Long Will a Worker's Compensation Claim Affect My Premiums?
Most states calculate workers' compensation premiums using a three-year span of experience modification. If your company is large enough to have an experience modification, every claim will affect your mod factor and premium rates. Fergurson Insurance Agency, Inc. will help you determine your E-Mod/X-Mod number and explain how this number works in figuring your premiums. We’ll also give you tips and practices to implement that can lower your number and premium.
Do I Have to Buy Workers' Compensation Insurance?
For most businesses, workers' compensation is required by their state. However, there are a few exceptions to the rule, such as how many employees you have. In Illinois, if you have any employees - even part-time ones, you must get workers' compensation insurance.
Get free workers' compensation quotes from multiple carriers and build the plan that best fits your business model and budget.
Business Owner's Package Policy
A Business Owner's Package Policy (BOP) is simply bundled insurance. Why do we bundle it? Well, the obvious answer is that it helps give you the most competitive insurance plan at the best price. But it also helps ensure your company is fully covered in the required areas without carrying unnecessary coverage options that end up costing you more. Fergurson Insurance Agency, Inc. loves helping connect small businesses to a BOP policy and seeing how much money we can help you save.
A business owner's insurance policy provides your company with a number of different types of coverage options. Most often, this includes:
- Commercial General Liability Insurance coverage (property damage or bodily injury claims)
- Property Insurance (physical assets claims)
- Income Loss Insurance (employee salaries and loss of rent, as well as loss of income)
Typically, BOP policies are for smaller businesses. That means companies with less than 100 employees that generate less than $5 million in annual sales. Some examples of businesses that would benefit from a business owner package policy include:
- Small retail stores
- Coffee shops, local restaurants, and caterers
- Independent doctors and dentists
- Veterinarians
- Automotive repair shops
- Pet Groomers
- Florists
Workers' Comp Insurance Obligations
What Are Some Reasons My Business Wouldn’t Qualify for BOP?
While a BOP can help businesses save a substantial amount of money in premiums, they aren’t usually a good fit for companies that have higher liability risks. The coverage limits simply aren’t sufficient. So, if your company is involved in highly specialized or high-risk operations, has large premises, or needs business interruption coverage to last longer than 12 months, you’d be better off checking out individual coverage options to build a more customized plan.
Are All Business Owners' Package Policies the Same?
No! That’s the beauty of working with Ferguson Insurance. We’ll use our network of top-rated insurance carriers to bring you quotes and coverage options on the best BOP plan for your business.
Get free business owners' package policy quotes from multiple carriers and build the plan that best fits your business model and budget.
Employee Benefits
If you want to secure the best employees for your business, you’ve got to pay them more than a competitive wage. You need a good employee benefits package, too! Fergurson Insurance Agency, Inc. Insurance uses our connections with numerous top-rated insurance carriers to develop an employee benefits plan that gives your employees a high level of value while still keeping the premiums and out-of-pocket costs you pay at a reasonable rate.
Which Employee Benefits Products Do You Offer?
Ready to give your employee benefits plan a boost? Check out some of the top employee benefits insurance products we can help you with. We’ll shop the market for you and provide you with multiple quotes from different carriers to help you compare which benefits are best for your investment.
- Individual & Group Health Insurance
- Short- & Long-Term Disability
- Fully Insured & Self-insured Plans
- Long-term Care / Medicare Supplements
- Individual & Group Dental
- Life Insurance – Business & Personal
- Public Employee Health Plans
- Voluntary Benefits
Why Should I Offer Group Life and Accidental Death & Dismemberment Coverage?
Giving your employees a safety net if the unthinkable happens is always a good plan. Plus, it’s relatively easy and affordable to incorporate into your employee benefits package. Not only will your employees appreciate the extra coverage, but you’re also providing them with added benefits they couldn’t get on their own—like hefty discounts for large-volume life policies. And they can take some of the benefits with them if they no longer work for you. For example, if you offer a term life insurance product, they can convert it to a permanent policy.
Aren’t Group Dental Plans Expensive?
Not necessarily. Fergurson Insurance Agency, Inc. Insurance can help you shop the market to find a plan that helps meet all of your employees’ dental needs with premiums they can afford. Options you can select include deductible levels, coinsurance options, maximum benefit choices, and orthodontia coverage.
Why Should We Add Short-Term Disability Benefits?
Having to give up a paycheck for several weeks or months will cause most employees financial strain (and a fair amount of stress). Yet sometimes, an illness, injury, or pregnancy makes the time of unavoidable. Short-term disability coverage helps replace a portion of an employee’s income during his or her time off and can be coordinated to supplement any employer-sponsored sick time program. Waiting periods do apply, but when in a pinch, this benefit really helps employees out.
Get free employee benefits quotes from multiple carriers and build a package that attracts your best employees.
